The Xheng Dynasty
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| Flag of The Xheng Dynasty | |
| Motto: Obediance ot the Throne, benevolence to the people. | |
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| Region | The Xheng Dynasty |
|---|---|
| Capital | Xi'an |
| Official Language(s) | English/Chinese/Common Speak |
| Leader | His Imperial Majesty the Emperor Xheng |
| Population | 200 Million |
| Currency | Xheng |
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The Dynasty
After the fall of the Yuan Dynasty in China a handful of loyalists to the noble family of Xheng isolated themselves in central China. The Ming Dynasty that followed permitted some local rule by the Xhengs as they swore loyalty to the Mings with absolute devotion. For their loyalty the Xheng's were given great autonomy. Through the process of flourishing silk and porcelain trade they branched into more profitable and necessary businesses such as the wealthy salt and spice trade.
The Ming Dynasty era allowed the Xhengs to exploit maritime technology. During the era they constructed massive grain ships and huge convoys of vessels to transport goods with the permission of the Emperor. This trade was valuable even after the fall of the Ming Dynasty. The Xhengs were forced to relinquish their loyalties to the Ming Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty. Secretly the Xheng family and their masses of followers planned to leave China, possibly for the new world of territories discovered during Zheng-He's voyages.
The Qing Dynasty set three centuries of preparations for the Xhengs. They pooled resources and wealth into secretly hidden underground chambers, that stored their masses of treasure and wealth. Massive rooms of gold and silver, jade and the greatest laquer, jade and porcelain artwork were kept hidden from the Qing.
The fall of the Qing dynasty, the era of warlords and the civil war brought great danger to the Xhengs as many of them were forced to be conscripted into warring factions but their goods and treasures were secured and only were handed to the royal family. After the Communist takeover and into Deng Xiaoping's reforms later to the end of the cold war, the Xheng's re-emerged as a powerful and wealthy family. Utilizing the modern construction methods of many international corporations, they began the construction of massive ships called Xheng-Class worldships. Their corporate empire was taking physical form as they bought more and more land from the communists. Eventually they realized that the Communists would never allow their existance as a monarchy and departed their ancient lands for the unknown. The Newer Lands of Europe awaited the Xhengs.
The Arch-Imperium
Twenty Xheng-Class Worldships filled with treasure and wealth with a fleet of more than 100 military vessels and 200 cruise liners and transoceanic ships. 50 million people had to depart and they did so with a massive oceanic voyage all the way past many regions to Europe. As they arrived they were not in posession of any land until the European Union Territorial Commission permitted them land. For a time they had to settle with creating their own territory. The Xhengs started to construct Tsing-Ma, the first mobile platform.
Tsing-Ma revolutionized the way of living in much of the European region. States there had never seen a floating steel and glass city like Tsing-Ma before and sovereignty was a definate issue. On top of that the fact that the new Arch-Imperium considered that their massive vessels were considered to be sovereign territory caused some controversy.
The construction of the Dynastic-Class Worldships to the civilian market opened up new possibilities for the commercial enterprise of the Xheng Economy. The Xheng Emperor himself had a ship comissioned for himself. When the Land was granted the Xheng Arch-Imperium took no time to construct their new cities, scrapping many ships and unloading their massive trasures so that they could form a powerful economy. Though compared to other nations their GNP was low their standards of living and lifestyle were based on resources not currency.
Culture and Commerce
The Xheng Dynasty rules over an Arch-Imperium, which is a federation of 3 provinces and 1 territory. The Territory is under the control of the Xheng Family while the other 3 provinces are nominally under the control of the 3 smaller dynastic clans. In truth most of the families are members of these 4 groups, but realistically this has no impact on their lifestyles. Except for the Royal Family, most people within the Arch-Imperium live rather simple ilves. It is a highly commercialized yet socialist style culture. The ancient culture of Oriental traditions is very prevelant and classical confucian ideas still flourish. The religions of Islam, Mahayana and Zen Buddhism, Taoism, Shinto and Ancestral Worship are still the most dominant of religious forces.
The culture of the Xheng Arch-Imperium allows for a very high standard of living with minimal income required. This makes the Arch-Imperium unique as the government is heavily responsible for providing shelter and community resources such as energy and shelter for its population. The wealth of the Xheng Dynasty comes from various sorts of industries, primarily manufacturing and mineral refinement. The advent of the massive construction of sea cities meant that mariculture was also a significant industry, exporting food and raw materials from the ocean which Xheng Technology seemed perfect for.
The construction of the Xheng-Class Worldships was a breakthrough for manufacturing of large scale vessels and construction projects. The technology required to create such huge vessels was put to later use when the construction of cities took priority. At an astounding rate cities throughout the Arch-Imperium's territory were springing up with fully functional facilities. Hydroelectric, solar and wind power were used to make the entire region enviornmentally friendly. Geothermal energy sometimes was also exploited to be used for heat generation. The need for energy sources allowed the enviornment to be targetted but the government was adamant that the enviornment was a definate issue that could not be disputed. As a result the Arch-Imperium has some of the most strict laws regarding enviornmental protection.
Cities made of steel and glass seem to be the more popular but also other construction materials like concrete and wood and even bamboo are common place. A mixture of their ancient curved roof architecture and compacted earth may still be seen in the building of traditional gardens and temples. For the most part modern grey and glass structures are more common. To allow for beauty, asthetic appeal is of pivotal importance. Gardens and plantlife of various colour variations are highly favored.
The Xheng Dynasty itself owns many large corporations which are highly profitable. These companies are not under the jurisdiction of the government executive, rather under the royal family of the Xheng Dynasty.
Dynastic International: Construction of large oceanic workprojects such as the Xheng-Class and Dynastic-Class Worldships as well as the artificial floating cities. Dynastic International features the largest shipyards ever built. Amongst the vessels constructed at these shipyards are military-grade vessels like nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and enormous submarines. Since the shipyards have to be large enough to accomodate Worldships it is to little surprise that they can also be used to refit and restock entire fleets of cruiseships.
Dynastic Fleet Works: The smaller scale version of Dynastic International which services smaller civilian vessels. It produces many ships from speed boats, to luxury yachts to even the largest cruise liners. Worldships are not cruise liners as their sheer size dwarfs any ship built.
Euro-Tower Inc.: An international conglomerate of investors who pitched together their massive fortunes (or at least portions of their fortunes) to construct the world's tallest structure. Utilizing much of the construction techniques of Dynastic International, the goal was to build a tower that was nearly a mile tall.
Dynastic AeroWorks: The air flight wing of Dynastic International. Purchasing designs from Qairbus, Dynastic AeroWorks began to be the primary airflight producer for nearly all of the flight vehicles in the entire Arch-Imperium. To their benefit Dynastic AeroWorks slowly began to expand its market to many other nations, much as its sister companies, Dynastic Fleet Works and Dynastic International.
Dynastic Mariculture: The resource gathering wing of Dynastic International is the division responsible for aquaculture and mariculture, underwater geothermal energy harvesting, as well as cultivation of marine life for food. Dynastic Mariculture processes more than 10,000 tonnes of food in a single week. This is more than enough for feeding a mssive population. Utilizing latest cloning techniques and growth of plantlife and livestock in their enormous harvesting stations, Dynastic Mariculture is on the cutting edge of food producing technology.
Government Structure
The government forumula of the Xheng Dynastic Arch-Imperium is consisted of three legislatures the executive, the royal family and the Judicial system. Throughout the system of government representatives are elected by a democratic process similar to those of European Nations but they utilize a single-transferable ballot proportional representation system. By tradition the legislative system is refered to as the Imperial Stratagem.
The Hall of Deputies: 500 representatives elected by the STBPR method from all over the nation and all inner-regions. It is from this chamber that the Prime Minister, and Ministers of the Throne are all from. This is the lower house but the one with the most authority. Every member is elected for 6 year terms with set election dates but they can run for as many terms as they wish. The rules of the Imperial Stategem are quite simple, that the political party with the largest number of seats/elected representatives thus holds power and forms government.
The Hall of Councilors: The Upper House of the Imperial Strategem, the Upper House consists of 300 seats, elected in identical methods to the lower house with the acception that their terms are set at 8 years. Often the result of the Hall of Councilor vote can tip the balance of power to another political party. But the Hall of Councilors cannot change the government. It is the Hall of Deputies that assures the governing party the right to govern, even if opposition has more seats included with their own members in the Hall of Councilors. Councilors may kill legislation passed by the Hall of Deputies if necessary.
The Council of Princes: The highest level of the Imperial Strategem short of the Cabinet itself. Half of the members are appointed by the Prime Minister, the other half are appointed by the Emperor. The Council of Princes are all nobility by appointment or by birth. The elected officials who are made a part of the nobility are only nobility by temporary appointment. The Council of Princes is perhaps the most powerful body in the government as it can create and pass legislation without the concent of the other houses, even the Prime Minister. They simply require the approval of thet Emperor to create laws. There are 100 seats on the Council or Princes. They have permanent seats but can be removed at the weill of the Prime Minister of the Emperor.
The Cabinet: The Ministers of the Throne all have portfolios and responsibilities regulated to every vital department. Ministers are the highest representatives of departments and are directly answerable to the Hall of Councilors and the press for what goes on in their departments. As a Ministerial portfolio may be prestigious and powerful it is also extremely difficult to escape misdeeds within the departments by high ranking civil servants who are often more difficult to remove or catch.
